February 11, 2015 “The Concertmaster”

“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” (Mark 1:35)

Good Morning Everyone, on this wonderful day that the Lord has made for us!

It’s a bit presumptuous of me, I know, to begin each one of my postings with a greeting of “Good Morning”, in that I have no way of knowing what time of day it is that you may be reading these missives. But being as it is my custom to arise early, and most of the time still dark outside, I will continue to greet you with that salutation. I like to begin my mornings in this fashion, as it draws me near to the great Source of strength for each new day, that being, of course, the Lord. Jesus himself understood this, and apparently it was his practice to draw away to a quiet place very early in the morning to spend time in prayer.

Have you ever attended an orchestral concert and noticed how just before beginning, the musicians all take the time to tune their instruments at the direction of the concertmaster? The concertmaster has the duty of tuning the orchestra or band at rehearsals and performances. He or she is also the person in the orchestra or ensemble that shakes hands with the conductor at the beginning or end of a recital. Next to the conductor, the concertmaster is the second most significant person in the orchestra. For the purposes of today’s analogy with scripture, we are the members of the orchestra, the Holy Spirit is the Concertmaster, and the Heavenly Father the Conductor. Tuning up before the concert begins is absolutely essential. No orchestra would begin playing before taking the time of tuning up, lest harmony become a cacophonous din instead. Nor should we begin our day without praying. As we do, we are fine tuning. The Concertmaster, the Holy Spirit, “shakes hands” with the Conductor by interceding for us as we pray, and helps us get in tune for what lies in store for us. Nineteenth century missionary to China Hudson Taylor admonished,

“Do not have your concert first, and then tune your instrument afterwards. Begin the day with the Word of God and prayer, and get first of all into harmony with Him.”

If you havenot already done so, I invite you to “tune up” with me as we begin with the Word of God, meditating upon it...“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” (Mark 1:35), and with prayer…so…Let’s pray!

Heavenly Father; as we draw near the Throne of Grace in prayer, tune our hearts to sounds of praise and thanksgiving. May the music of our lives be pleasing to your ears, as we begin each new day in fellowship with You, following the songbook of scripture as you conduct and bring forth the harmonious sounds of your great orchestra, the Church, of which we are privileged to be a part. In Jesus’ great name we do pray. Amen!